100 grams of salt is about 5.6 tablespoons. One tablespoon of salt weighs about 18 g, and one teaspoon is about 6 g. It is the heaviest dry ingredient on this page at 18 g per tablespoon, and the most dangerous to measure by volume, because kosher salt can weigh less than half as much per spoon as table salt.
All figures on this page are approximate, and they come from King Arthur Baking, measured spooned and levelled. Fine-grained salt; the default seasoning salt. Seasoning every dish and controlling yeast in bread. When a recipe has to work the first time, verify with a kitchen scale.
How the measurement works
The figure on this page comes from King Arthur Baking, measured spooned and levelled. One US cup is 16 tablespoons, so every figure here is the cup weight of 288 g divided by 16, rounded to one decimal place. Fine-grained salt; the default seasoning salt. Seasoning every dish and controlling yeast in bread.
A note on disputed figures. Fine table salt packs at 288 g per cup (18 g per tablespoon). Kosher salt is far lighter: Diamond Crystal is about 128 g per cup and Morton about 256 g - never swap them cup-for-cup.
All results on this page are approximate. Ingredient weights vary with brand, humidity, temperature and how firmly you pack the spoon, so when a recipe has to work the first time, weigh the ingredient on a kitchen scale and use the numbers here as a guide.
Conversion table
| Amount | Grams of salt |
|---|---|
| 1 teaspoon | 6 g |
| 1 tablespoon | 18 g |
| 2 tablespoons | 36 g |
| 3 tablespoons | 54 g |
| 4 tablespoons | 72 g |
| 5 tablespoons | 90 g |
| 6 tablespoons | 108 g |
| 8 tablespoons | 144 g |
| 10 tablespoons | 180 g |
| 12 tablespoons | 216 g |
| 1 cup (16 tablespoons) | 288 g |
| 100 g | 5.6 tablespoons |
One tablespoon is one sixteenth of a cup, so every figure above is simply the cup weight divided by 16, rounded to one decimal place. The last row is the headline figure for this page: 100 g of salt is about 5.6 tablespoons. All figures are approximate; verify with a kitchen scale when it matters.
Three real kitchen examples
A bread dough for a weekend bake (Salt)
A bread dough for a single loaf uses 2 tablespoons of salt, about 36 g, mixed into the flour before the water goes in. The salt controls the yeast, so the dough rises slowly and develops flavour, and it strengthens the gluten, so the loaf holds its shape. Two spoonfuls is a lot of salt for a single loaf, and most recipes use far less; weigh the salt, because a tablespoon too much can slow the yeast to a standstill.
A pot of pasta water
A pot of pasta water takes 3 tablespoons of salt, about 54 g, stirred into the boiling water before the pasta goes in. The water should taste like the sea, because the pasta absorbs the salt as it cooks, and unsalted pasta tastes flat no matter what sauce goes on it. Three spoonfuls salts a large pot, and the salt should go in once the water is boiling, so it dissolves at once.
A brine for a roast chicken
A brine for a roast chicken uses 8 tablespoons of salt, about 144 g, dissolved in water with sugar and herbs. The salt draws moisture into the chicken and seasons it all the way through, and the chicken should sit in the brine overnight in the fridge. Eight spoonfuls is enough for a brine that covers a whole chicken, and the chicken should be rinsed and patted dry before roasting, so the skin crisps.
Getting it right in your kitchen
Salt matters because it does more than season: it controls yeast in bread, strengthens gluten, and draws moisture out of vegetables. In bread, salt slows the yeast so the dough rises slowly and develops flavour, and a dough without salt rises too fast and tastes flat. In pasta water, salt seasons the pasta from the inside, which no sauce can do afterwards. At 288 g per cup, fine table salt is the heaviest dry ingredient in the kitchen, so 100 g is only about 5.6 tablespoons, and a tablespoon weighs 18 g. The warning that matters most is kosher salt: Diamond Crystal kosher salt is about 128 g per cup and Morton about 256 g, so the two kosher salts do not even weigh the same as each other, and neither can be swapped for table salt cup-for-cup. Weigh salt, always.
Scaling with tablespoons is easy once you know the weight of one spoon. To measure 100 g of salt, count out about 5.6 tablespoons, and for 50 g, about 2.8 tablespoons. Halving a recipe that calls for 100 g means using 50 g, and doubling it means 200 g, or about 11.1 tablespoons. The key is to scale every ingredient by the same factor, because changing one ingredient without changing the others throws the recipe out of balance. For large amounts, switch to a cup measure or a scale: counting out more than 16 tablespoons is slow and error-prone, and a cup is faster and more accurate.
Storage. Dry cupboard, indefinitely.
- Weigh salt, always: table salt and kosher salt weigh very differently per spoon.
- Salt pasta water until it tastes like the sea; the pasta absorbs it as it cooks.
- Season soups at the end, because salt concentrates as the liquid reduces.
Frequently asked questions
How many tablespoons is 100 grams of salt?
100 grams of fine table salt is about 5.6 tablespoons, spooned and levelled, using the King Arthur Baking value of 288 g per cup. One tablespoon weighs 18 g. The figure is approximate, so verify with a kitchen scale when the recipe matters. Kosher salt weighs far less per spoon, so never swap the two by volume.
How many grams is 1 tablespoon of salt?
One level tablespoon of fine table salt weighs 18 g, and one teaspoon is 6 g. Kosher salt is far lighter: a tablespoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt weighs about 8 g, and Morton about 16 g. Always check which salt the recipe means, and weigh it when the amount matters.
Can I use kosher salt instead of table salt?
Yes, but not by volume: kosher salt is far lighter per spoon, so you need more of it. By weight the swap is simple, 100 g for 100 g, but by spoonfuls a recipe written for table salt needs about twice as many spoonfuls of Diamond Crystal kosher salt. For baking, where the amount matters, weigh the salt.
How much salt should go in pasta water?
About a tablespoon per litre of water, so the water tastes like the sea. For a large pot, that is roughly 3 tablespoons, or about 54 g of table salt. The pasta absorbs the salt as it cooks, and unsalted pasta tastes flat no matter what sauce goes on it.
Does salt go bad?
No, in any practical sense: salt keeps indefinitely in a dry cupboard. It can clump in humidity, so keep it in a sealed container, and break up any lumps before measuring. Iodised salt can lose its iodine over years, but it is still safe to use.
Common mistakes to avoid
The most common mistake is swapping table salt and kosher salt by volume: a tablespoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt weighs about 8 g against 18 g of table salt, so the dish ends up badly under-salted. The second mistake is adding salt to a bread dough at the wrong time, where too much salt too early can slow the yeast; mix the salt into the flour first. The third mistake is salting a soup before it has reduced, because the salt concentrates as the liquid evaporates; season at the end. Finally, do not store salt in a damp cupboard in an open container, because it clumps and is hard to measure evenly.